Deliz Quiñones Group
The Deliz-Quiñonez group does research regarding PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) fate and transport in vulnerable coastal communities under the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment. I have been involved with the lab since Spring 2022, working alongside the PI, Dr. Katherine Deliz-Quiñonez, PhD, and various graduate students to assist in their research efforts. This year, I will be conducting my own project under USP entitled "Forever Chemicals in our Wastewater."
Research Focus
This year I will be conducting an independent research project regarding PFAS in wastewater under USP. PFAS are toxic “forever chemicals” that do not break down naturally in the environment and can have various health effects when consumed. They are present throughout the water and soil in our communities, and transported via runoff and weather events. Recently, there has been a push to use treated wastewater for irrigation (among other uses) in order to conserve potable water sources. Since this water can then enter our environment, it is important to understand the potential effects. Thus, I want to investigate the ability of traditional wastewater treatment processes at removing PFAS from waste water. I will do this using entry and exit point samples from UF’s wastewater treatment facility. Additionally, I will be comparing average day data to that of football games days to see how the system performs under differing stress conditions.
Project Responsibilities
Initially, I will conduct a literature review in order to determine what is currently known about PFAS in wastewater. I will also tour the UF wastewater treatment facility and work with its team to develop a sampling plan for my project. I will also be in charge of conducting analysis of the samples using techniques I have learned over the past few years to characterize the water and extract the PFAS. I will use ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and analyze the resulting curves in Xcalibur to determine the PFAS concentrations. Finally, I will use R and other necessary program to conduct statistical analyses of the results. Throughout the project, I will meet with my PI to update on my progress and discuss how to proceed.